John Chiang
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 04:40 PM
Four years ago, the son of a Kenyan father and Kansan mother stood before you and
delivered an address that lifted our nation’s hearts and hopes by reminding us that
together we can achieve greatness. As I watched him speak, I couldn’t help but think that
unlikely as his story may be, it is my story too. It is our story. It is the American story.
On the surface, it could be viewed that Barack Obama’s parents had little in common
with my parents. His father came from Africa; my parents came from Asia. They spoke
different languages. Their paths surely never crossed. Yet our parents had much in
common because they were united by the values they taught their sons: that in America, it
doesn’t matter where you came from, but where you are going. It doesn’t matter what
your name is, but whether you are willing to work hard to make a name for yourself.
Barack Obama’s life reaffirms the American dream, a dream living in the hearts and lives
of countless American families from the eastern shores, to the farmlands, to the Rocky
Mountains, to my beloved California, and beyond. This is our nation’s great promise. But
the promise feels harder to reach.
As the Controller of the State of California, my job is to build a brighter fiscal future for
my state and her 38 million residents. Like every state, California is struggling with
foreclosures, record gas prices and rising unemployment. We are working harder than
ever, but still many of us are falling further and further behind.
But we know our future is still golden. We know of a path to the promised land and
Barack Obama will lead us there. He understands, as John F. Kennedy said, that “a rising
tide lifts all boats.” Together we will rise, or together we will fall.
Here in Denver, and all across our country, we choose to rise. Together, we will rise and
reject another four years of the same policies that brought us from a decade of economic
prosperity to a decade of economic despair. Together, we will rise and overcome the
challenges of poverty, access to health care, and energy independence.
Barack Obama will give us the change we need, so that the values of hard work and
opportunity that our parents taught us will ring just as loud, clear and true for our children
as they did for us. Let those values be our calling. And once again build a country that
embraces the great promise of her people.
Thank you and God bless you all.